Replacing my rear shocks

[jimmy b.]

This weekend I'm going to replace my rear shocks. I read the fsm over a couple
of times and it looks pretty straight forward. The question that I do have is how
do you know what position to put the actuator back on or does it go on only
one way or have some sort of detent. Also are there any other concerns I
should be aware of...thanks for any help , jim

[VetteMed]

Jim, the actuator goes on in any position, it is self-indexing when the key is turned to ON. I usually install it so that the harness is facing forward so as to make insertion into the frame hole easier.

Upon disassembly, be sure to not lose the end of the car's wiring harness into the frame rail.

Be sure to support the lower end of the shock with a jack, and raise the upper mounting flange to the frame with the jack, rather than using the upper bolts to pull the shock into position.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Please let us know how it goes and thanks for asking the question. I have a new set of rear shocks that I will replace soon too so perfect timing.

[jimmy b.]

Thanks VetteMed for the help, tonight I removed the rear shocks. I followed
your directions and had no problems. I have a 3 ft high scissor type lift. I put
the car on the lift and let the suspension hang, then I used a floor jack and a
few blocks of wood to reach the control arm and jacked the arm up an inch or
two. then I removed the upper shock bracket bolts. Next I lowered the arm and
shock together slowly until suspension was fully relaxed. Now I removed the
lower shock nut and washer which let me lower the shock enough to remove
the electrical actuator retaining clip and then the actuator itself. And finally the
shock.

I was surprised to see that there was a fair amount of wire harness in the
frame to come out with the shock. I have to work tomorrow so after work
I will install one shock then Sunday install the other one. I'll let ya's know
how it works out, thanks again...jimmy

[jimmy b.]

Well I couldn't wait I finished both shocks tonight I'm sure ya all know how that
goes. I do have a couple of concerns I noticed. First I notice the top of the
new shock doesn't have the concave area where the rubber insulator sits like the original, but when installed did have the correct height for the selector
gear. Second the fsm states that I should hear an audible "click" when installing
the actuator, but I didn't hear it. I made sure it was seated properly and the
retaining clip was correct and made sure it didn't pull off. Also I put them back
on the old shocks and didn't hear them either. other than that installation was just the reverse of the way I took them off. Just wondering if anyone else
notice this also.

The reason I changed the shocks in the first place the right rear shock was
leaking on the garage floor, the left didn't show any leaks at all. But when I
took down the left shock it was leaking worst than the right. It was literally
pouring out the top at the selector gear and the oil was all inside the frame.

I hope this helps to some who haven't done it yet...jimmy

[tomtom72]

Yes, none of my actuators clicked either! Just make sure that the 5mm gear height was observed before finishing up. I think that is the only critical step besides not using the upper mount bolts to 'pull' the rear shocks into position.

You know you can send your old ones to Bilstein to have them rebuilt. I saved my old ones just for that reason. Sort of like my own cores, and no down time waiting for the turn around.




Tom

[jimmy b.]

Originally Posted by tomtom72

Yes, none of my actuators clicked either! Just make sure that the 5mm gear height was observed before finishing up. I think that is the only critical step besides not using the upper mount bolts to 'pull' the rear shocks into position.

You know you can send your old ones to Bilstein to have them rebuilt. I saved my old ones just for that reason. Sort of like my own cores, and no down time waiting for the turn around.




Tom

Hi Tom, I made sure the gear height was correct. I tagged the old shocks and
put them in the boxes the new ones came with. I'll do the same as you when
I need to repair again thanks...jimmy